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22 September 2023 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 8041 / Categories: Opinion , Constitutional law , International
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Insurrection & court intervention: A high-stakes gamble?

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Could legal proceedings stop Trump from standing for election? Michael Zander raises doubts about the attempt to remove the former president from the ballot

Donald Trump has promised he will run for election in 2024 even if he is convicted on any of the serious criminal charges he faces in both federal and state courts. Surprisingly, there is nothing in the US constitution that would bar him from being president after any such conviction. But there is a provision in the constitution that could stop him being elected—by barring him from being a candidate in the first place.

Sweep & force

Section 3 of the 14th amendment provides that no person shall hold public office who, having taken an oath as an officer of the United States to support the constitution of the United States, ‘shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same’.

Section 3 was ratified in 1868 in the aftermath of the Civil War. Its purpose was to prevent secessionists from returning

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: Driving test fraudsters steer towards jail
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
NLJ this week: Deepfakes demand data law muscle
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
NLJ this week: 40% penalty for coercive control
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
NLJ this week: Mbappé row spotlights ‘ethics bonuses’
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law
NLJ this week: CPR tweak closes third-party disclosure gap
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
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